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Neotropical bats: estimating species diversity with DNA barcodes.

ABSTRACT: DNA barcoding using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI) is frequently employed as an efficient method of species identification in animal life and may also be used to estimate species richness, particularly in understudied faunas. Despite numerous past demonstrations of the efficiency of this technique, few studies have attempted to employ DNA barcoding methodologies on a large geographic scale, particularly within tropical regions. In this study we survey current and potential species diversity using DNA barcodes with a collection of more than 9000 individuals from 163 species of Neotropical bats (order Chiroptera). This represents one of the largest surveys to employ this strategy on any animal group and is certainly the largest to date for land vertebrates. Our analysis documents the utility of this tool over great geographic distances and across extraordinarily diverse habitats. Among the 163 included species 98.8% possessed distinct sets of COI haplotypes making them easily recognizable at this locus. We detected only a single case of shared haplotypes. Intraspecific diversity in the region was high among currently recognized species (mean of 1.38%, range 0-11.79%) with respect to birds, though comparable to other bat assemblages. In 44 of 163 cases, well-supported, distinct intraspecific lineages were identified which may suggest the presence of cryptic species though mean and maximum intraspecific divergence were not good predictors of their presence. In all cases, intraspecific lineages require additional investigation using complementary molecular techniques and additional characters such as morphology and acoustic data. Our analysis provides strong support for the continued assembly of DNA barcoding libraries and ongoing taxonomic investigation of bats.

SUBMITTER: Clare EL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3144236 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Neotropical bats: estimating species diversity with DNA barcodes.

Clare Elizabeth L EL Lim Burton K BK Fenton M Brock MB Hebert Paul D N PD

PloS one 20110726 7

DNA barcoding using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI) is frequently employed as an efficient method of species identification in animal life and may also be used to estimate species richness, particularly in understudied faunas. Despite numerous past demonstrations of the efficiency of this technique, few studies have attempted to employ DNA barcoding methodologies on a large geographic scale, particularly within tropical regions. In this study we survey current and potential species ...[more]

PMID: 21818359

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Project description:BackgroundMixed-species groups in animals have been shown to confer antipredator, foraging and other benefits to their members that may provide selective advantages. In most cases, however, it is unclear whether functional benefits are a principal driver of heterospecific groups, or whether groups simply result from simultaneous exploitation of common resources. Mixed-species groups that form independently of environmental conditions may, however, evidence direct benefits of species associations. Bats are among the most gregarious mammals, with sometimes thousands of individuals of various species roosting communally. Despite numerous potential functional benefits of such mixed-species roosting groups, interspecific attraction has never been shown. To explore alternative explanations for mixed-species roosting, we studied roost selection in a speciose neotropical understory bat community in lowland rainforest in Costa Rica. Long term roost data were recorded over 10 years in a total of 133 roosts comprising both natural roosts and structurally uniform artificial roosts. We modelled bat roost occupancy and abundance in each roost type and in forest and pasture habitats to quantify the effects of roost- and environmental variability.ResultsWe found that bat species presence in natural roosts is predictable from habitat and structural roost parameters, but that the presence and abundance of other bat species further modifies roost choice. One third of the 12 study species were found to actively associate with selected other bat species in roosts (e.g. Glossophaga commissarisi with Carollia sowelli). Other species did not engage in communal roosting, which in some cases indicates a role for negative interspecific interactions, such as roost competition.ConclusionsMixed-species roosting may provide thermoregulatory benefits, reduce intraspecific competition and promote interspecific information transfer, and hence some heterospecific associations may be selected for in bats. Overall, our study contributes to an improved understanding of the array of factors that shape diverse tropical bat communities and drive the dynamics of heterospecific grouping in mammals more generally.

Project description:BackgroundA wide range of microorganisms inhabit animal skin. This microbial community (microbiome) plays an important role in host defense against pathogens and disease. Bats (Chiroptera: Mammalia) are an ecologically and evolutionarily diversified group with a relatively unexplored skin microbiome. The bat skin microbiome could play a role in disease resistance, for example, to white nose syndrome (WNS), an infection which has been devastating North American bat populations. However, fundamental knowledge of the bat skin microbiome is needed before understanding its role in health and disease resistance. Captive neotropical frugivorous bats Artibeus jamaicensis and Carollia perspicillataprovide a simple controlled system in which to characterize the factors shaping the bat microbiome. Here, we aimed to determine the relative importance of habitat and host species on the bat skin microbiome.MethodsWe performed high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the skin microbiome of two different bat species living in captivity in two different habitats. In the first habitat, A. jamaicensis and C. perspicillata lived together, while the second habitat contained only A. jamaicensis.ResultsWe found that both habitat and host species shape the composition and diversity of the skin microbiome, with habitat having the strongest influence. Cohabitating A. jamaicensis and C. perspicillata shared more similar skin microbiomes than members of the same species (A. jamaicensis) across two habitats.DiscussionThese results suggest that in captivity, the skin microbial community is homogenised by the shared environments and individual proximities of bats living together in the same habitat, at the expense of the innate host species factors. The predominant influence of habitat suggests that environmental microorganisms or pathogens might colonize bat skin. We also propose that bat populations could differ in pathogen susceptibility depending on their immediate environment and habitat.

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Neotropical bats: estimating species diversity with DNA barcodes.

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Neotropical bats: estimating species diversity with DNA barcodes.

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